{{I originally intended to make this and the trio's segment all part of the same episode, but that installment would have been too big as is, hence the split.—tmw.}}
"Sheriff Cooper?" asked a deputy, while knocking on his superior's office door.
"Come in," said the Sheriff, to which the deputy did, only to be surprised not to see his boss.
"Sheriff?"
"Down here," replied Cooper, as the deputy walked around his desk to see the Sheriff lying on the floor with his coat bunched up under his head like a pillow. "I was just trying to take a brief nap. What's up?"
"FBI Agent Brooke Reeds on Line One. Says it's urgent to speak to you ASAP."
"Okay," said Cooper, while getting up. "Our status?"
"Prisoners and perimeter are both secured, but the journalist vultures are still perched all over the place. Our ticket sweep you sent us out on last night scared a few of them to other locations, but we're still basically surrounded, despite the fact that they are staying off our property," explained the deputy.
"Best we can do at the moment. The rest of the town?" asked Cooper, now standing upright and trying to brush the dust off himself as best he could.
"Peaceful, under the circumstances. But we did get an anonymous tip that Grrrrrr... is allegedly planning to reopen today, despite Moon Lake still being under the Code W alert.*"
"Hmm..." said Cooper, thinking it over. Something I better tell Tachibana about when I make my morning report to her. "Even if it's true, that place doesn't open till noon for the lunch crowd. Send a plain clothes unit there around 11:30 to keep an eye on the place. If the tip turns out to be true, have the unit try to shut them down as quickly and as quietly as possible while avoiding any scene or publicity. If that's not feasible, have the unit try to keep any customers from going inside with the same restrictions, but contact me immediately."
"Yes sir," said the deputy, before leaving.
"Hello Agent Reeds," said Cooper, picking up the phone.
"Douglas?" began the female member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "What the hell is going on in your neck of the woods?"
"The prisoners are still secured, but we had a media leak. Freedom of the press is one thing, but they're still all over the place right now."
"Who blabbed?" Reeds wanted to know.
"I have a strong suspect, but can't talk about it on a possibly unsecured line."
"Understood," replied the FBI Agent. "My superiors have been monitoring the situation since the news broke, although everyone liked your speech last night."
"Thanks."
"But the fact that the word is out is causing problems on our end. My bosses now want additional security arrangements to transport Fredrick Parker and his men back here to Seattle. Something we might not be able to do now until tomorrow."
"Not happy news, but we can hold down the fort here," replied Cooper. "The one thing I would like to know is if you've heard any news about a possible rescue attempt for Parker and his men, let alone the possibility that someone might try to take advantage of the situation and try to knock out the competition while they have the chance."
"Thankfully, nothing so far on either point," replied Reeds. "If anything, Parker's financials are in a serious mess at the moment."
"Oh?"
"It's like someone rubbed a magic lamp and made a wish. We've been keeping tabs on Parker and his activities for months while trying to build our case, but suddenly all his assets, legitimate and otherwise, are disappearing before our eyes. I'll be surprised if the man doesn't wind up totally penny less by the end of this week," admitted Reeds.
"Really?" said Cooper in disbelief. I wonder who has the power to pull that off, realizing that task had a very short list of suspects.
"Anyway, I'll be coming down to Moon Lake later this afternoon to coordinate the prisoner transfer on that end. Anything else I should be aware of?"
"Don't bother checking into the hotel. You can bunk here in the Sheriff's office with the rest of us. And bring whatever bottled water and other supplies you think you might need. We're still under a Code W* here."
"Code W*?" repeated Reeds, realizing what that was, since she was a werewolf. "Understood. Unless anything else develops between now and then, I'll call you again when I enter Moon Lake proper."
"Okay Agent Reeds. Looking forward to working with you again. Just wish it was under better circumstances."
"Me too," replied Reeds, before ending the call on her end.
Then Sheriff Douglas Cooper looked at his wristwatch. Damn! Darrell is already at school, and I have no idea what Joan's agenda is for this morning. I miss them, he realized with a heavy sigh.
Then, as he left his office to acquire a bite to eat for breakfast and contemplating what he would say in his phone report to the senior member of the Elders' Council, he thought, If I ever get my paws on Jack Crawford, there won't be enough of that werepanther left when I'm done to make a decent wash cloth!
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*A Code W Alert prevents any were from being in their fursona in public, even during times when it would normally be okay to do so.—tmw.